The North Carolina Bankers Association (NCBA) held the North Carolina Banking Hall of Fame induction ceremony during the 2019 Fusion Forum at the Washington Duke Inn in Durham. The North Carolina Banking Hall of Fame was designed in 2001 to pay tribute to the leaders of our state’s banking industry and acknowledge the impact that they have had on their communities. The 2019 inductee was Harold Keen, president and CEO of KS Bank, Inc. in Smithfield.
“Harold Keen personifies what it means to be a North Carolina banker,” said Peter Gwaltney, president & CEO of the North Carolina Bankers Association. “Harold’s peers and associates attribute his success in banking to his strong character, his generous and effective community leadership, the personal investments he has made in the development of his staff and his commitment to sound banking principles.”
Click here to watch Keen’s induction video.
Harold Keen is a native of Johnston County and grew up on a family farm just outside of Four Oaks, where he still resides to this day. Keen is a veteran of the US Armed Forces, having flown helicopters with the US Army in Vietnam before serving as an instructor pilot with the North Carolina National Guard. He retired from this position with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Four (CW4) as a Master Army Aviator.
After completing his military service, Keen returned to Johnston County and received his degree in accounting before starting his banking career at Smithfield Savings and Loan Association. In 1990, he joined what was then known as the Kenly Savings and Loan Association as president and CEO. Although KS Bank, Inc. no longer operates under the same name, Keen continues to serve in the same position as a leader of the industry today.
